Long Night
by AKJ4
Summary: One-shot set at the end of 'Exposed'.


**Long Night**

_A/N: I've been writing fic for years but this is my first LTM fic. I must say, it was a challenge trying to get into the mindset of different characters. I do hope I've done them justice. Any feedback would be very much appreciated! This fic is set at the end of 'Exposed'. The title 'Long Night' is a song by The Corrs. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy._

**OOOOO**

They'd come to a sort of truce, Cal realised. The only reason he'd been suspicious of Burns was because, well, he was lying… Yet now he knew the truth. And he could see the man truly cared for Gillian… Loved even, though Cal was loath to admit it, even now.

Lightman cringed, his sadness showing on his features as he followed his partner's movements towards Dave, saw her relief as she reassured herself that he was, indeed, okay. It was not for himself that Cal felt pain. No, it was for the couple before him, though admittedly mostly for Gillian. For he knew that the happiness she felt was soon to be ripped cruelly from her, and there was nothing anyone, least of all him, could do about it.

"I'll meet you back at the apartment." Her tone was soft and she reached to kiss the injured face before her. The sadness intensified on Cal's features as he witnessed this, and as Dave left the room, the expression changed on his partner's face as well; there was a reason she was a partner in a renowned deception detection firm, after all. "He doesn't want me to follow him."

He ambled over to the doorway in which she was now standing, gazing down the corridor long after Burns had disappeared. "No," he uttered as softly as he could. "They're going to move him, change his name."

The tension which had been present in her face increased at his words. Her jaw was set, she swallowed, and she shifted on the spot as she did when something upset her. It took a few moments before she could speak, only after she released a heavy breath and sucked it back in as if to hold her up. "I like the one he had." And the tears built. But Gillian being Gillian refused to let them go, refused to appear weak, even though any lay person could see the devastation on her features.

"Come on Darling," he eventually uttered, seeing that she wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself. "Let me take you home."

She shook her head at this, as he predicted she would do. "I can drive myself."

But he wasn't to be deterred. It took a few more moments of back and forth before she eventually gave in, though that wasn't at all surprising; Cal would have had the upper hand in any argument with her at that moment. And so he guided her through the vast building and to the car park with a hand to the small of her back, feeling the tension she was carrying through her spine.

The ride was silent. Foster sat ridged in the passenger seat, though her fingers twisted furiously in her lap, and she occasionally shifted so her posture was even more erect, if that was at all possible. Despite the upset he could read in her actions, not a tear escaped her, not a whimper was released. He was rather proud of her for that, though he wouldn't have thought any less of her if she had given into her tumult and simply released the sobs he knew were building.

Once inside her house, Gillian seemed a little more confident, though was still at a loss of what to do with herself. She wandered aimlessly through to her living room with Cal stalking purposefully behind her. He merely raised his eyebrows in question when she turned to address his presence. "I'd like you to leave, please Cal… If you don't mind," she tagged the last bit on the end, as if to take away the rudeness of her effectively kicking him from her house.

"I do mind in fact." He worked his jaw once, characteristically, as if he were chewing on something, at the same time as stepping into her personal space and tilting his head to the side in observation. She didn't retreat, yet she showed decidedly more discomfort than she normally would at Cal's actions. "Burns wanted me to look after you." Well, Dave had said it with his face, at least.

"I don't need looking after!"

"Alright." He stepped back and held up his hands to placate her. "He wanted me to make sure you're okay. Which I know you're not," he hurriedly added seeing her about to protest, "So don't bother lying."

A frown adorned her forehead and the two little lines between her eyebrows became more pronounced. It was obvious she was unsure whether it would be a wise decision to allow him to stay. So he made the decision for her and flopped down on her couch in a typical 'Cal' pose; his posture slumped, his left arm dangling over the back of the sofa, his right over the armrest, his legs splayed at odd angles before him, and his head tilted to one side as he regarded her. "Care to join me love?"

She seemed set to refuse, but then the tears suddenly built to give her eyes a glossy quality, and she sat down carefully beside him, her face averted but not before he caught a glimpse of intense sadness coupled with a hint of shame. Intent on not allowing the last emotion to linger, and hoping to lessen the first emotion if that was possible, he tugged her against him and held her as tight and as close as he could. He heard her give a soft whimper before the sobs started in earnest.

"I love him Cal."

He could have been hurt at this, upset. But for once he pushed aside his own emotions to concentrate on Gillian. "I know Darling," he soothed, stroking his fingers against the nape of her neck, feeling the soft short hairs beneath her ponytail slide along the pads of his digits. "And I could tell he loved you too."

She pulled back to look at him slightly. "You could see that?"

He gave a nod in reply and watched as her a tiny smile flittered across her lips before they trembled and more tears trailed a path down her cheeks; it was as if she was unsure whether to take comfort from his words, or whether they made her heart break even more.

**OOOOO**

It was a long while later when Gillian finally roused from her position against Cal's shoulder. The tears had finally lessened to occasional sniffles and shudders until eventually she felt able to speak coherently; something was gnawing at her. "I need to know… Why did you start investigating him?"

"I knew he was lying, Darling. That night you left the office with him, remember? After the, er, underground fighting case." He shifted and continued on quickly, his hands moving almost manically before him. "When I called him Dave Burns, asked him if it was right, he looked uncomfortable. He was lying about his name."

"You saw that?" she asked, then answered her own question somewhat darkly. "Of course you did."

Cal watched with some intrigue as shame settled on her features. He could be pretty sure of the reasoning, but he needed her to tell him. Reading her at this stage would only destroy the fragility of the trust being rebuilt between them. And he was not going to do something to get himself kicked out and leave her to deal with everything alone… Again.

After long minutes of silence, she eventually looked up at him with such a forlorn expression, he had to restrain himself from launching himself at her and gathering her up in his arms. "I didn't see it." A hint of anger crept into her voice. "I detect lies for a living, and I didn't see that he had this whole other life!"

Cal tipped his head and gazed steadily at her. "Truth of happiness…"

"Never both," she supplied in a whisper. Tears once again clouded her vision, but she released a short cough to release the tension building in her throat whilst taking a moment to blink away the saline moisture and straighten her posture. "It still doesn't explain why you felt the need to start a _file_ on him."

"Generally love, when people lie about their name, they're hiding something bigger. And generally, that something ain't good… It was just in case… If he was involved in something sinister, I'd be able to protect you."

"I don't need protecting!" was her immediate and rather vehement response.

"I've no choice in the matter darling. I can't let anything happen to you; you're my best friend."

Her lips trembled at that and she allowed him to tug her back against him. With the time for talking apparently over, he knew there was little more he could do for her except continue doing what he was already doing; holding her close, and providing physical comfort.

**OOOOO**

"That's why you'll always be alone."

Cal was sat in the overly yellow café, eating ridiculously portioned and assembled breakfasts with his daughter. She'd just made reference to his lack of trust in pretty much everyone. He mulled the statement over for a moment before catching sight of a certain psychologist sat outside the establishment.

"I'm not alone," he responded, standing abruptly and making his way over to his business partner and best friend. Burns had been gone a couple of weeks. He could still see a hint of sadness in her eyes, yet the smile she threw him when he announced his presence was genuine.

They were very similar, he mused as he sat opposite her, listening to her relate the plot of the book she had been reading. Both had rough childhoods, both divorced with various emotional scars to boot. The difference was he still had his daughter, right on the other side of the glass-fronted café, whereas Gillian's daughter was separated from her by a distance of miles. And they'd both dealt with their issues in different ways: he by clinging to and obsessively seeking out truth, coupled with the occasional alcohol binge; and she by compartmentalisation, false smiles and clinging to her unwavering optimism.

Perhaps it was time they clung to each other a bit more.

_Fin_


End file.
